Heel block and method of forming the same



July 17, 1928.

N. L. GULLIFORD HEEL ,BLOCK AND METHob OF FORMING THE SAME Filed Feb. 2, 1927 1 7259.].

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strips formed from the plank;

Patented July 17, 19 28.

STATES PATENT IOFFICE.

NICHOLAS L. GULLIFORD, OF PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS.

HEEL BLOCK AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME.

Application filed February 2, 1927. Serial No. 165,386.

complete embodiment of the invention;

wherein Fig. l is a perspective view of a finished heel block;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the block;

Fig. 3 is' a side elevation of a finished heel made from the block shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the heel shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an end view of a plank marked off to indicate the lines along which it is to be cut into strips from which the heel blocks are to be made;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of one of the Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of a saw showing one method of producing the inclined cuts lengthwise of the plank; and

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate the preferred method of placing the strips in position to be cut into short lengths.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings there is shown a block illustrative of my invention, which comprises a flat top surface 1, downwardly converging sides 2 and 3, a con-- caved front face 4 and a rear convex surface 5. The curved surface 5 has approximately the same radius as the front face 4 except for the difference due to the thickness of the saw. A bottom face 6 of the block lies parallel with the top surface 1 of said block.

The front face 4 is concaved so as to form a vertical groove which in. the finished heel constitutes the usual concaved heel breast. Desirably this face 4 is so accurately formed I even in the rough block that very little finishing is necessary to make it conform with the finished heel breast. Moreover said front face 4 is not only concaved or grooved vertically but is inclined from its upper edge downwardly and forwardly to correspond with the angle or pitch desired for the breast of the finished heel.

By carefully preparing the front concaved face of the heel block in the manner aforesaid, a surface will be provided that may be utilized conjointly with the bottom face 6 to accurately position said block in all of the subsequent heel forming and finishing operations. Practically no allowance will need to be made for any surplus material on these faces and because of the accuracy in positioning the blocks said blocks may be made considerably smaller and nearer the shape of the finished heel, resulting in a considerable saving in material. The upper edges of the sides 2 and 3 of the block lie parallel to each other, but, as viewed from the front or rear, they are obli ue to the perpendicular axis of the heel lock, in-

clination of the said surfaces 2 and 3 fol-' lowing as near as possible the bounding lines of the concaved sides of the finished heel.

To more clearly illustrate the functions of the several surfaces herein before mentioned in connection with the heel block, ,I have shown in Figs. 3 and 4 a finished heel such as it is possible to produce from the aforesaid block. This heel comprises a fiat under face 8 corresponding to the surface 6 of the blank shown in Figs. 1 and 2. -The sides 10 and 12 of this heel are downwardly converging but are also slightly concaved, as will be seen in Fig. 4. although the angle of inclination of said sides is approximately that of the surfaces 2 and 3 of Fig. 1. Furthermore the upper edges of the finished heel instead of being parallel are curved as shown at 14 and these surfaces merge with the convexly curved rear surface 16. It will also be noted that the curvature of the back portion 16 of the heel varies slightly from the curved surface 5 of the blank. The front face 18 of the finished heel describes substantially the same curvature and inclination as the front face 4 of the .blank, this face and the under surface 8 being the only faces of the heel which remain unchanged during the several. steps necessary to transform the heel blank of Fig. 1 into the finished heel of Fig. 3. The top surface 20 of the heel is not onlyinclined, as will be seen in Fig. 3, but it is also concaved to fit the convex surface of the sole of the shoe to which the heel is to be attached.

The desired method of producing the heel block illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 includes the following steps:

A plank is first produced from selected material and of a thickness approximating the overall height of the finished heel, as in dicated at H, Fig. 3. The plank may vary in width according to the number of strips it is desired to produce therefrom and naturally the width of the strips so produced. will als have s me ar ng p n t ntersecting each other at a given the plane of the axis of a cylindrical saw, between said cuts, the angular planes of 40 across the cutting edge of said. saw to sucsaid. edges i l (l l ill W l 6 '11 L01 n. ill

of hard wood and consequently expensive, the cost of the blocks will be materially less than those produced by the methods heretofore employed. I

Among the advantages thus accruing from the block and process of making the same disclosed ,in this invention are the production of a much greater number of blocks from agiven quantity of material, byreducing the waste; the p oduction of a given number of blocks at much less expense owing to the reduction in the amount of labor and number of operations required to produce the same; the production of a block that'wis much easier to turn hecauie of the fact that an accurate gauging surface at the breast and bottom of the block are produced and enablcs'the blocks to be uniformly placed in a turning or finishing machine; and by providing a convex rear surface so near like that of the finished heel, to be presented to the cutters of the turning machine muclrlcss pressure will be required to hold the block against the turning cutter because less material has to be removed therefrom, thus permitting greater speed and accuracy in turning.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown.

Claims:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a heel block having a concave front face constituting the-breast of a heel and a rear convex surface describing a curve substantially coinciding with that of said front concave face.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a heel block having a concave inclined front face constituting the breast of a heel and a rear convex inclined surface substantially coincidingboth in curvature and inclination with said front face.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a heel block comprising downwardly converging sides. the. inclinations of said sides approximating the bounding lines of the sides of the finished heel, a concave front face substantially corresponding to the breast of a heel and a. rear convex surface bounding the back of the block.

4;. As a new article of manufacture, a heel block comprising downwardly converging sides, a vertically grooved inclined front face corresponding to the breast of a heel and an inclined convex rear surface substantially corresponding to the shape and inclination of said front face.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a heel block having a vertically grooved front face substantially corresponding to the breast of a heel to be formed from the block, and having arear convex surface substantially coinciding with said front face.

6. That method of making heel blocks which consists in stripping a plank having a thickness approximating the overall height ofa heel into a series of successively inverted coniplen'ientary strips each having substantially oppositely inclined edges and then in feeding said strips to a saw to form thereon forward vertically concaved faces corresponding to the breast of a heel, and convcxly curved rear surfaces substantially coinciding with the curve of said front face.

7. That method of making heel blocks which includes the feeding of a strip of predetermined shape to a saw and in successively severing therefrom sections approximating in length the overall depth of a heel. each cut of said saw forming a concave face at the front of one block and a similarly curved convex surface at the rear of an adjacent block.

8. That method of making heel blocks I which includes the successive severing from said strip of sections approximating in length the overall depth of a heel, each cut of said saw forming a rear concave surface on one block and a forward grooved breast on the next block.

9. That method of making heel blocks which includes the feeding of a strip having downwardly converging sides across the cutting edge of a saw at an oblique angle to said saw and in successively severing from said strip predetermined lengths each having a concave face at one end and a complementary convex surface at the other end, each cut of said saw simultaneously forming the convex-surface of one block and the concave face of a consec tive block.

10. That method of making heel blocks which consists in stripping a plank, having a thickness approximating the overall height of the heel to be produced from theblock, into a series of consecutively inverted complementary strips having downwardly converging edges, and then in sawing obliquely through said strips to form blanks having front concave faces and rear convex surfaces.

11. That method of making heel blocks which consists in stripping a plank, having a thickness approximating the overall height of the heel to be produced from said block, into a seriesof consecutively inverted complementary strips having downwardly converging edges, and then 1n sawing ob liquely through said strips from top to bottom to form at each cut of said saw a convex forwardly inclined rear surface on one block and a forwardly inclined vertically grooved face for the consecutive block.

12. That method of making heel blocks which consists in stripping a plank, having a thickness approximating the overall height of the heel to be produced from said block, into a series of consecutively inverted complementary strips having downwardly converging edges, then in feeding said strips lengthwise and in symmetrical relation to the plane of the axis of a cylindrical saw, across the cutting edge of said saw to successively sever from said strips blocks having lengths approximating the overall depth of the heel to be formed therefrom, each cut of said saw producing a concave face at the front of each block and a complementary convex surface at the rear of a preceding block.

13. That method of making heel blocks which includes the forming of a plurality of similarly shaped strips from a single piece of material by sawing lengthwise of said piece of material along planes angularly disposed with respect to the face of the mate rial but successively inclining in different directions, each 0i. said cuts producing corresponding edges of adjacent reversed strips.

14. That method of making heel blocks which includes the forming of a plurality of like strips from a single piece of material b stripping said material along inclined p anes, the planes of the saw cuts forming opposite edges of each strip being angularly disposed with respect to each other and to a plane lying perpendicular to the face of said piece of material, substantially midway between said cuts, the angular planes of said edges intersecting each other at a given point in said perpendicularplane.

15. That method of making heel blocks which includes the forming of a plurality of like strips from a single piece of material by stripping said material along inclined planes, the planes of the saw cuts forming opposite edges of each strip bein angularly "disposed with respect to each 0t er and to between said cuts, the angular planes of said edges intersecting each other at a given point in said perpendicular plane, the plane of each of said edges also substantially constituting the plane of a like edge of an adjacent strip and intersecting the plane of the opposite edge of saidadjacent strip at a given distance from the opposite face of said, material.

16. That method of making heel blocks which includes the forming of a plurality of like strips from a single piece of material by stripping said material along inclined planes, the planes of the saw cuts forming opposite edges of each strip being angularly disposed with respect to each other and intersecting each other at a given distance from the face of said material, the saw cut forming each inclined cut simultaneously forming a like edge of an adjacent strip.

17. That method of making heel blocks which consists in forming a plank of a thickness approximating the height of the finished heel, then in tilting said plank to a predetermined angle to the plane of rotation of a saw and in stripping said plank lengthwise, then in inverting said plank and again stripping it lengthwise and in repeating these operations until the entire plank is stripped, each cut of the saw forming the last edge of one strip and the first edge of the next strip, then in cutting said strips into short blocks each having a concave forward face constitutin and a convex rear sur ace.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification;

NICHOLAS L. GULLIFORD.

the breast of a heel 

